Last minute reprieve for the greedy

While we're all holding our breath, waiting for the election to be over, the Bush administration isn't letting the grass grow beneath its dirty little feet.  Only 10 more weeks and they're out of office.  Maybe they'll spend some time removing the B's and O's from their computer keyboards in the White House.  But we know for certain they're going to leave us with a mess -- deliberately.  It's a mess to be really concerned about, reported in the Washington Post this morning.  Bush plans to deregulate just about everything.

"The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January.

"The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some would ease or lift constraints on private industry, including power plants, mines and farms."

Once the regulations are lifted, not only can some serious damage be done to the environment and to all of us but it can take years to restore original standards.

"Once such rules take effect, they typically can be undone only through a laborious new regulatory proceeding, including lengthy periods of public comment, drafting and mandated reanalysis."

Everything is on the table, from regulations affecting oil spills to family medical leaves, all of which will have to be restored over years and decades.